Monday, April 30, 2012

GOOD NEWS FOR A MONDAY MORNING!

Many observers see opening if Supreme Court kills Affordable Care Act

- Common Dreams staff

After last week's deliberations before the US Supreme Court over Obama's signature health care reform legislation, the Affordable Care Act, speculation is rampant about the political fallout if the nation's highest court knocks down some, or all, of the law.Conservatives would see a move to throw out the law (which they derisively call 'Obamacare') as a victory, whereas Democrats and those who championed the legislation would consider it an affront to jurisprudence and a defeat of the president's largest domestic policy initiative. Progressives, however -- who only reluctantly accepted the law's passage after their preferred alternatives, either a single-payer system or a 'public option', were ruled out -- may ultimately be the ones who claim victory if the Supreme Court invalidates the 'individual mandate' or the entirety of the Affordable Care Act. Read more

Sunday, April 29, 2012

3 Chics Politico gives mad props to President Obama on his accomplishments since being in office. It’s pretty impressive!Hat-tip:Political Carnival
1. Ordered all federal agencies to undertake a study and make recommendations for ways to cut spending
2. Ordered a review of all federal operations to identify and cut wasteful spending and practices
3. Instituted enforcement for equal pay for women
4. Beginning the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq
5. Families of fallen soldiers have expenses covered to be on hand when the body arrives at Dover AFB
6 Ended media blackout on war casualties; reporting full information
7. Ended media blackout on covering the return of fallen soldiers to Dover AFB; the media is now permitted to do so pending adherence to respectful rules and approval of fallen soldier’s family
8. The White House and federal government are respecting the Freedom of Information Act
9. Instructed all federal agencies to promote openness and transparency as much as possible
10. Limits on lobbyist’s access to the White House.READ MORE

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Why Social Security Cannot Go Bankrupt

It is a logical impossibility for Social Security to go bankrupt. We can voluntarily choose to suspend or eliminate the program, but it could never fail because it “ran out of money.” This belief is the result of a common error: conceptualizing Social Security from the micro (individual) rather than the macro (economy-wide) perspective. It’s not a pension fund into which you put your money when you are young and from which you draw when you are old. It’s an immediate transfer from workers today to retirees today. That’s what it has always been and that’s what it has to be–there is no other possible way for it to work.
To explain this, let’s create a simple world. Read MORE

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES

It was refreshing, indeed, that it took only one single day for DuPage
County Board Chairman Dan Cronin to begin cleaning house in the
ethically and operationally challenged DuPage County Election
Commission, after accounting firm Crowe Horwath LLC's investigation was
published Tuesday.

Alas, a number of good, civic minded DuPage residents have doggedly spent over
a thousand days providing DuPage public officials and local media with
essentially the same information publically revealed this week.
Previously uncovered corruption and mis-management in county housing and
water agencies, and quite possibly the DuPage County Forest Preserve
Commission tells us that these kind of shenanigans flourish when elected
officials and the Fourth Estate fail to pay attention to these unpaid
and unsung heroes of good local government. We all owe them our thanks.

Spreading the word is critical, but please only pass this message along to those who know you -- spam hurts our campaign.

Thanks for all you do.

--The CREDO Action Team

Here's a sample message to send to your friends:
Dear Friend,

We need to save the post office. The Postmaster General wants to close over half of the mail processing centers and over 3,000 mostly rural post offices. And his plan includes laying off almost 220,000 workers. In this economy, that's the last thing we need.

Reps. Jerry Connolly (D-VA) and Don Young (R-AK) have written a letter to the House leadership, urging them to take action to save the Post Office—and enact reforms that continue to ensure that all areas of our nation continue to enjoy access to the U.S. mail service.

This is a bipartisan problem and a bipartisan letter. For this letter to gain momentum, we need as many representatives as possible, Democrats and Republicans alike, to sign on—and your representative has not yet signed on.

I just called on my representative to save the post office. You should do the same. Click here for an easy script and the number to call.

No purchase, payment, or contribution necessary to enter or win. Contributing will not improve chances of winning. Void where prohibited. Entries must be received by April 30, 2012. You may enter by contributing to Sponsor here or click here to enter without contributing. Two winners will each receive the following prize package: round-trip tickets for winner and a guest from within the fifty U.S. States, DC, or Puerto Rico to a destination to be determined by the Sponsor; hotel accommodations; and dinner with President Obama and George Clooney on a date to be determined by the Sponsor (approximate retail value of all prizes $3,200). Odds of winning depend on number of entries received. Promotion open only to U.S. citizens, or lawful permanent U.S. residents who are legal residents of 50 United States, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico and 18 or older (or of majority under applicable law). Promotion subject to Official Rules and additional restrictions on eligibility. Sponsor: Obama for America, 130 E. Randolph St., Chicago, IL 60601.

Want to support our work? MoveOn Civic Action is entirely funded by our 7 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.This email was sent to Democratic Party of DuPage County on April 23, 2012.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

That's an additional 5% for all of our first-place-slotted candidates and a much more likely win for some!
Wow. This is truly exciting. Please forward this blog and ask your friends to find a campaign to work for because this happening actually doubles the value of their work! CALL 630-629-1125 if you need more information. Candidate information will be appearing soon.

WHAT IS ALEC?**

The acronym means American Legislative Exchange Council and what they are exchanging is YOUR rights for their legislation often handwritten by companies and handed directly to legislators without constituents' interests in consideration at all. Please go to the ALEC FAQ page for more information to make your calls.

WHY IS THIS BAD FOR ALL AMERICANS?

Through ALEC, Global Corporations Are Scheming to Rewrite YOUR Rights and Boost THEIR Revenue

Through the corporate-funded American Legislative Exchange Council, global corporations and state politicians vote behind closed doors to try to rewrite state laws that govern your rights. These so-called "model bills" reach into almost every area of American life and often directly benefit huge corporations. In ALEC's own words, corporations have "a VOICE and a VOTE" on specific changes to the law that are then proposed in your state. DO YOU?

Contact Sandra Pihos and Kirk Dillard today and ask to speak to them personally. Then please ask them to do as many prominent companies like Pepsi and people like Bill Gates have done...withdraw their support and resign from the board positions today.Sandra Pihos can be reached at her District Office
751 Roosevelt Rd., Bldg.7, Suite 106, Glen Ellyn, IL 60137
Phone: 630-858-8855

**This information is from the Center for Media and Democracy. ALEC Exposed is a project of the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD). CMD does NOT accept donations from for-profit corporations or government agencies. More information about CMD is available here. You can reach CMD's Executive Director, Lisa Graves, via editor AT ALECexposed.org or fax (608-260-9714).

Monday, April 23, 2012

The Annual Convention of the Illinois Democratic Women was canceled today (it was to be held on the April 27-28) due to scheduling conflicts and lack of participation, according to co-chair Jill Morgenthaler.
Plans are not being made to reschedule and refunds are being given to anyone who did already send in money.
Locally, Laura Fletcher and Kim Savage of DuPage are on the board of IDW and may be able to answer any questions you may have regarding these refunds or the group in general.
The contact info on their site is
(312) 945-8572
Email: info@illinoisdemocratwomen.org

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Thom Hartmann Radio Program Live Mon-Fri 11am–2pm CT. He has a daily independent television program, The Big Picture, on Free Speech TV that is Live 9pm & 11pm weekdays and on Cable TV. On RT TV there are Big Picture YouTube video segments. Check his website and find out what stations broadcast his radio and TV shows.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Naperville Township Democrats Present Special Evening with Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon. You are invited to a very special evening with the Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, Sheila Simon at Naperville's Black Finn American Saloon Restaurant from 7:30-9PM. The Naperville Township Democrats are very honored to have Sheila Simon as our guest of honor for our spring fundraiser! She will join our previous honored guests --Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Secretary of State Jesse White--in providing for our members and supporters a memorable evening that will not only include Sheila's remarks, but fabulous Finn appetizers, sizzling drink specials, a great cash raffle, and a few "Magic Moments" with DJ Jason Robinson. Tickets: $50 per person...$45 for members...$40 for members, if paid by April 19th! Please make checks payable to the NTDO and they may be mailed to: Dianne McGuire, 1235 Tennyson Lane, Naperville, Il 60540 Questions? 630-420-8502 http://tinyurl.com/c9d325u

ALEC Politicians:ALEC is not a lobby; it is not a front group. It is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, behind closed doors, corporations hand state legislators the changes to the law they desire that directly benefit their bottom line. Along with legislators, corporations have membership in ALEC. Corporations sit on all nine ALEC task forces and vote with legislators to approve “model” bills. They have their own corporate governing board which meets jointly with the legislative board. (ALEC says that corporations do not vote on the board.) They fund almost all of ALEC's operations. Participating legislators, overwhelmingly conservative Republicans, then bring those proposals home and introduce them in statehouses across the land as their own brilliant ideas and important public policy innovations—without disclosing that corporations crafted and voted on the bills. ALEC boasts that it has over 1,000 of these bills introduced by legislative members every year, with one in every five of them enacted into law. ALEC describes itself as a “unique,” “unparalleled” and “unmatched” organization. It might be right. It is as if a state legislature had been reconstituted, yet corporations had pushed the people out the door. Learn more at ALECexposed.org.

ABOUT ALECALEC is not a lobby; it is not a front group. It is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, behind closed doors, corporations hand state legislators the changes to the law they desire that directly benefit their bottom line. Along with legislators, corporations have membership in ALEC. Corporations sit on all nine ALEC task forces and vote with legislators to approve “model” bills. They have their own corporate governing board which meets jointly with the legislative board.

Check it out!Alice is a great Candidate.We love to see that earned media.You can help our candidates get noticed by the news too.Talk them up to your friends and neighbors.Write letters to the local news.

Interested in supplementing your usual political reading with something new?

I know many DuPage Democrats are frustrated by the mainstream printed press because it fails to portray our more progressive views.Often the news these days is focused only on selling papers and can leave out our side of the story.

Consider getting some of your info on issues that are important to Democrats not from the printed press, but from local non-profits who are working hard to fight for our issues.

Check out Illinois PIRG, whose slogan is “Standing up to Powerful Interests.”

They are advocating for more transparent government, closing tax loopholes, better health care and better transportation.All things we need and support.

So if you haven’t heard of them, or you’re not aware of the great work they’re doing, check it out!

Paid for by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee PAC (www.BoldProgressives.org) and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. Contributions to the PCCC are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.

Want to support our work? MoveOn Civic Action is entirely funded by our 7 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.
334,682 people like MoveOn on Facebook. Can you help get to a million? Like MoveOn on FacebookThis email was sent to Democratic Party of DuPage County on April 6, 2012. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

Warren Buffett, a billionaire, pays a lower tax rate than his secretary.

Think that's unfair? So does Warren Buffett.

Right now, millionaires and billionaires have nearly the lowest tax rates they've had in 50 years, while everyone else picks up the tab.

So President Obama is asking Congress to pass a commonsense bill, known as the Buffett Rule, to fix the tax code and make sure that millionaires and billionaires pay at least the same share of their income in taxes as middle-class families.

The Buffett Rule would reduce the deficit while helping to pay for investments in education, clean energy, jobs, and other programs that will help our economy grow.

Many Republicans are dead-set against this commonsense step, so the unfortunate reality is that next week's vote may not go our way.

But tax fairness is one of the defining issues in this election, and supporting this policy is one of the touchstones of this campaign.

Not only does Mitt Romney oppose the Buffett Rule, but he wants to protect special breaks and loopholes that help wealthy Americans like himself avoid paying their fair share -- and he wants to shower them with even more tax breaks paid for by middle-class families and seniors.

If that's not the kind of country you want to see for the next four years, do something about it now.

My name is Kathleen, and I'm helping run a 99% Spring action training next week. I'm in Denver, but there's a training in Aurora too and I hope you'll go.

I know just how broken our economy is right now.You see, I have been out of work for some time, and as an older person, it is tough to find work at my age.

I see gas prices spiking, food prices increasing, and there seems to be no end to how difficult the 1% wants to make it for the rest of us. I think it's time to say "No, we've had enough!" Every day I tell myself, "They don't get to win ... not without a fight from me."

Today is the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., and I'm leading a nonviolent direct action training next week because I'm ready to follow in his footsteps, and the footsteps of so many everyday people throughout our history who have taken courageous action to stand up for justice.

After our training here in Denver, we're planning a huge protest on Tax Day to demand that the 1% pay their fair share. But I don't want things to end there. I hope we're part of a huge national wave—a true 99% Spring—of direct action challenging the destructive greed and influence of the 1%.

I want you to help make that happen along with me. I understand there's a training planned in Aurora on Saturday, Apr. 14, 2012, at 10:00 AM. Will you join in?

At the trainings, we'll discuss how to tell the story of what happened to our economy and learn crucial skills that will help us take effective action. Anyone can participate! People from every walk of life, from every community, at any age have a role to play—you don't need any special experience.

I believe that right now we have the chance to stand together. If enough people like you and me join in—people who understand that our system is broken and want to do something about it—we could win real change. The struggles to transform our country have never been won from the top down. Great change happens through grassroots movements and people taking bold action.

The wave of direct action I want to see spread this spring is already starting to build, not only where I live here in Denver but in places like Sanford, Florida, where students and young people are mobilizing on Monday—the first day of our nationwide trainings—to protest the injustice of the killing of Trayvon Martin.

Over the next 60 days, groups all over the country are planning to carry the wave of action forward. They will confront tax-dodging millionaires, greedy Wall Street CEOs, dirty energy polluters, politicians pushing voter suppression in the states, corporations trying to buy our elections, and more.

Martin Luther King Jr. taught us that "the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

I'm so inspired to know that tens of thousands of people have already signed up, and I want you to join us. Can you make it to the training in Aurora on Saturday, Apr. 14, 2012, at 10:00 AM?

And don't worry, this email was sent through the MoveOn system, so your personal contact info is kept private.

Want to support our work? MoveOn Civic Action is entirely funded by our 5 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.
Launch your own MoveOn-style campaign - and sign up other members to get involved. Start a petition on SignOn.orgThis email was sent to Democratic Party of DuPage County on April 4, 2012. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

Jon Stewart lampoons tepid endorsements of Romney

Daily Show host Jon Stewart on Monday night analyzed the less-than-enthusiastic endorsements of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. “Look, Romney is going to be the nominee. Everybody’s decided. They’re all getting behind him. What they haven’t really decided is why,” he said. Read More ->

Kirk Cameron: Conditions in America could lead to dictatorship

While interviewing evangelist Ray Comfort about his pro-life film on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, actor Kirk Cameron suggested that the United States was ripe for the rise of a dictator like Adolf Hitler. Read More ->

Angry Black Lady Chronicles

I *Knew* Rick Perry Was High!
Remember Rick Perry’s “oops” moment? Turns out he was hopped up on painkillers. Read More ->

Raw Meat

What Eliot Spitzer’s new Current TV show really needs to do to get ratings
Do you remember watching disgraced former governor Eliot Spitzer’s TV show on CNN? It’s okay, almost no one does, because it was almost universally terrible — and when they dumped his co-host, Kathleen Parker, it went from terrible to unwatchable. Read More ->

Culture Clutch

The Stones of Constantine
In the days of the later Roman Empire, when much of the skill to create sculptures and bas-reliefs in the original, classical style had been lost, the builders of that time used to construct their monuments using stuff –ornaments, statues and carvings– removed from earlier buildings.epeatable sections are noted with plus and minus signs so that you can add and subtract content blocks. Read More ->

Want to support our work? MoveOn Civic Action is entirely funded by our 7 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.
Launch your own MoveOn-style campaign - and sign up other members to get involved. Start a petition on SignOn.orgThis email was sent to Democratic Party of DuPage County on April 5, 2012. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.